


The Purgatory

by Lanturn



Category: Bleach
Genre: Broken Bones, Character Death, Gen, Hitsugaya is stranded, Ichigo is sort of competent, Sick Fic, Snow Storms, and big brother-ish, and revival, probably inacauracte descriptions of snow storms, wonky science
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 19:58:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2745152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanturn/pseuds/Lanturn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Breaking his arm and getting snowed in at Ichigo's place wasn't how Hitsugaya had planned to start his new mission in the real world, neither was getting cut off from Soul Society nor having strange visions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 0

**Author's Note:**

> It started with 'I want to write a fanfic about Hitsugaya sleeping over at Ichigo's.' This is the result. Please read and enjoy.

Day 0

It could most definitely not be called the greatest day of Hitsugaya Toushirou's life, nor the most glorious as the white-haired Shinigami Captain lay in the middle of a small alley, with his left arm immobilized and hurting like hell.

He couldn't really recall how he ended up there, last thing he knew was that he had started to walk through the Senkai Gate towards the real world in order to make a check-up of Karakura Town together with Matsumoto Rangiku and some other officers, Kuchiki Rukia, Madarame Ikkaku and Abarai Renji included.

Now he was alone in the real world, with a blank in his memory and in a broken state he couldn't believe he had ever lived through before. All of a sudden he had tumbled down towards the ground at high speed and failed, despite his keen reflexes, to brace himself against the fall.

The youngest Captain in Soul Society slowly rose to his feet, winching slightly at the pain in his left arm, he was almost certain it was broken, it sure felt like it, and took out his cellphone from inside of his cloak.

"This is 10th Squad Captain, Hitsugaya Toushirou, requesting status report." He spoke normally, despite the sharp pain, a Captain couldn't show weakness and he was most curious to know why he was alone. Yet everything he heard in response was static silence.

"What's wrong with it?" He muttered silently to himself and started to take in his surroundings properly instead of staring on the unresponsive cellphone. Trying to trace the others reiatsu proved to be difficult, the terrible ache was blocking out other reiatsu so he couldn't sense anyone else than himself.

This was most definitely Karakura Town, so he wasn't completely lost but unsure of his exact position, but finding the way to Urahara's shop shouldn't prove too difficult. He clutched his arm in hope of steading it ever so slightly but the pain almost made him let out a small cry, breaking something like this wasn't an experience he had ever hoped to add to his list but there was nothing to do about it now, he would need help to mend it completely. As he started to walk down the street an unexpected voice called his wavering mind back from the plan he had started to conjure up.

"Yo Toushirou! Is that you?" Orange hair and a tall but slim body structure greeted the white-haired Shinigami as he turned around and stood face to face with Kurosaki Ichigo, Karakura Town's own Shinigami Substitute.

"That's  _Captain Hitsugaya_ for you." The youth replied with a poisonous tone, his mood not at its peak because of his injuries and his lack of information of what exactly was going on. He didn't have anything personal against the Substitute but he had a tendency of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, far too often.

"What are you doing here? Mission?" Ichigo replied, completely ignoring the other's statement. His eyes quickly darting to the smaller man's arm that he clutched to his side with a pained expression on his face. "You okay?"

A frown appeared on Hitsugaya's face and he was almost struggling to keep the cool in his voice.

"No, as a matter of fact I'm not. I went through the Senkai Gate, ended up here though I remember nothing of the inside of the gate and I'm pretty sure my arm is broken." He stated matter-of-factly, making Ichigo's eyes go wide with his words.

"W-what? We should take you somewhere to look at it."

"Just a minor problem with your idea, nobody can see me. Besides, I was already on my way to Urahara Kisuke." Hitsugaya replied with a sigh and started to walk, just to find Ichigo walking alongside him.

"In that case you're going the wrong way, Urahara-san's shop is over there. Don't tell me you've caught Kenpachi's absolute sense of no direction." The orange-haired said but Hitsugaya wasn't late to notice the concerned look upon the other's face which only made him feel irritated. The pain wasn't making the feeling easier to handle and he was strongly against being seen as a person in  _need_ , of anything. Yet he bit his lip in order to not blurt out a nasty retort and went the correct way.

"It's just hard to navigate from the ground when you're not sure of where you are." he muttered as an excuse and soon found himself escorted by Ichigo, all the way to Urahara's.

The former 12th Captain was fairly surprised as he saw the pair enter his store, the smaller figure with a distinguished look of pain on his now pale face, which he was obviously trying to hide and Ichigo with a look of worry upon his.

"Well, well, an unexpected visit." Urahara said curiously, not bothering to ask how it had happened, at least for now. So he took them both inside, letting Tessai take care of the 10th Captain's wound, also supporting him with his gigai in order to be visible and hopefully recover from the broken bone faster.

"Now, would you perhaps mind to share what has happened to you with our humble audience Captain Hitsugaya?" Urahara asked once the indeed broken arm, that was broken in gigai form as well since it was damage inflicted on the soul, was wrapped in bandages.

"I stepped into the Senkai Gate since I, Matsumoto and a few more officers were supposed to make a regular check-up mission for Hollows here in Karakura. Next thing I knew, I was here, tumbling through the sky, breaking my arm in the fall." The 10th Captain admitted it with slight shame but lying wasn't something he was fond of. "I can't detect the others reiatsu, nor get in touch with Soul Society and my own main question is why."

The scientist made a small frown.

"Did something seem strange inside the gate?"

"I'm. . . not sure. I can't really remember being in there but I'm sure I stepped inside." Hitsugaya replied with a thoughtful look on his face, Urahara was silent for a few moments, fanning his face at the same time before he got up from the floor.

"I will make a try to contact Soul Society about you being here, not completely whole but in safety." Urahara offered. "But I can't offer you to stay here I'm afraid, since there is a snowstorm coming, we will head for another location for a few days. Being here alone with a broken arm wouldn't do you no good."

"Sheesh, I forgot about that. Good thing Dad, Karin and Yuzu aren't meant to come back until next week." Ichigo said, Yuzu and Karin's school had gone on a skiing trip just the other day, their Dad tagging along since the teacher had asked for help.

Hitsugaya held in a sigh, he didn't find any problems with a snowstorm, on the contrary, he liked snow far more than he'd probably admit if anyone asked. But no contact with Soul Society was a problem, being hurt and stuck in a gigai in order to recover another issue as well as the question of where he should stay.

"What about that girl?" He asked, thinking about Inoue Orihime whose home he, Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika had occupied for a period during a mission and its owner had gone to Soul Society to train for the battle against the Arrancar.

"She's out of town together with Tatsuki so her place is out of the question. But I guess you could crash at my place for a few days." Ichigo finally offered and shrugged, he had his house to himself so Hitsugaya wouldn't need to questioned by his father, nor did he need to sleep in Ichigo's closet like Rukia always did.

Plus, Kon wasn't there, he had gotten himself lost somewhere since a week back. Ichigo wasn't really worried since that Modified Soul had an exceptional ability to get through tough situations, one way or another.

". . . Fine. I appreciate it." Hitsugaya replied quietly, kind of relieved that he didn't have to sleep outside, even if the winter was his favorite time of the year he wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in the park and his arm still hurt a lot, all he really cared for right now was getting some sleep and that was definitely not like him.

"Well that's decided. Please take care of him Kurosaki-san. We will let you know if we get any response from Soul Society." Urahara concluded and waved his fan in goodbye, as the two Shinigamis went on their way to the Kurosaki Clinic.

Although Ichigo first showed him a quick tour of the house, Hitsugaya was mostly interested in the room where he would be sleeping, Ichigo's, while the Substitute himself took the sofa in the living/waiting room.

Since they both agreed that Ichigo's clothes was too big for the small Shinigami it was decided that Hitsugaya would sleep in one of Karin's more neutral pyjamas since it was the same size and not as girly as Yuzu's.

Hitsugaya only needed to stare at Yuzu's pyjamas, decorated with multiple flowers in vivid colors, with an icy glint in his glare for Ichigo to understand that the young Captain never would put that on. He also refused Ichigo's help when he had to change into the pajamas so even though it took a little while he managed to dress himself, even if the shirt ended up inside and out.

Ichigo couldn't help but to feel a bit awkward about the situation, he had never really had a real talk with Hitsugaya so he barely knew anything about him, except that he was the youngest Captain among them all and possessed an impressive intellect, but seeing the other in his younger sister's yellow pajamas didn't really provide confidence to the truth.

No one normal would see Hitsugaya as the cunning individual he indeed was if they saw him in that state, Ichigo had a feeling Matsumoto would squeak about how cute he looked if she was there to see her Captain in pajamas.

Yet, Ichigo felt a bit unsure about the whole situation.

Why couldn't Hitsugaya remember the gate and why was he alone if several others were supposed to have come too? Thinking wasn't really Ichigo's strong side though and his thoughts was interrupted by the Captain in question.

"Kurosaki, I'm retiring for tonight." The turquoise eyes gave proof to the fact that Hitsugaya was tired, the pain had obviously exhausted him a bit as well because he was still a bit pale so Ichigo wished him goodnight.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me."

". . . Right." Was the reply he received before Hitsugaya retreated from his presence, settling himself upon Ichigo's bed in deep thought. He couldn't help but find it strange, all that had happened.

Was he really that incapable, not being able to brace himself from falling to the ground, breaking something? And what was going on? He couldn't sense Matsumoto or any of the others in the real world, hadn't they entered the gate at the same time?

Tiredness and the pain that was thankfully kind of numbed now thanks to Tessai made it a bit hard for him to focus on the matters at hand. Hitsugaya found nothing better to do than wishing for receiving some kind of contact from Soul Society soon, including an update about what had happened but for now the Shinigami Captain wanted nothing other than sleep.

Soon after laying down on the bed, he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an old work that I'm reposting, it'll probably go through some revising in the future, if I ever find the energy to do so.


	2. Day 1

Day 1

Hitsugaya eyed the ceiling a bit suspiciously, he knew this place, he just got to figure out from where. He sat up and didn't realize he used his broken arm to do so until a sharp sting of pain reminded him of his whereabouts and current situation. He fell back on the bed with a gasp of pain.

Of all places, he had ended up in Kurosaki's house, alone in the house with the Substitute in question, he was thankful for the other's offer yet he couldn't shake off the feeling he had in his small chest. Something was just weird, he didn't like depending on others, was that what he felt? Remorse at having to be taken care of?

Yet, he had Hyourinmaru at his side. With that knowledge, Hitsugaya somehow felt better, even though what had happened yesterday still puzzled him, some things never changed.

He got out of bed and frowned at how hard it was to change clothes with one arm almost immobilized, but he wouldn't ask Kurosaki for help, that was far below his pride. But after a couple of minutes the young genius had to sigh to himself, perhaps he should just stick to the pajamas for a while. It was still early, he was hungry and he could dress himself once he had eaten something so he went downstairs, finding Ichigo sitting on the couch, he had obviously just awakened because he let out a loud yawn before he noticed Hitsugaya's appearance.

"Oh, morning Toushirou. Slept well?" The orange-haired asked as he got up.

"Even if I am staying at your place for the time being, I do not remember approving your will to call me by my given name. It's still Captain  _Hitsugaya_  for you." Ichigo frowned at the youth's lethal glare.

"Come on, can't be that much of a deal right?" Ichigo shrugged and slowly walked over to the kitchen, stretching himself as he went. "You want breakfast?"

Hitsugaya glared at the other man's back when his reprimand was, as always, ignored but let it go and sat down on a kitchen chair while Ichigo was getting cereals, sandwiches and juice for breakfast, he didn't make traditional breakfast, that was Yuzu's job.

Hitsugaya still wasn't sure what to say about the real world's food but he wouldn't complain about what was offered since he was hungry, not that he would in normal cases. Silence kicked in as they ate, it felt perfect for Hitsugaya as he was kind of fond of stillness during the morning while Ichigo soon was a bit restless with it. He still couldn't really believe it either, eating breakfast alone with the wounded genius Captain, which he barely knew anything about, this wasn't really how he had pictured his days home alone.

"Hey Toushirou. . ."

" _Captain Hitsugaya_." The child prodigy muttered.

"How's Rukia and everyone else doing?" Ichigo finished, without minding the retort.

"They're fine, Matsumoto wouldn't shut up about things she would do in the real world that is completely irrelevant to the mission at hand." Came the reply before Ichigo's attempt at striking up a conversation fell together with the silence, he tried again.

"You don't mind coming along to the supermarket later? We kinda need to buy some food to prepare for the snowstorm."

"I suppose." The white-haired boy answered after a moment of silence, that was the least he could do since he would be living there, perhaps for a couple of days if they couldn't contact Soul Society.

"Don't misunderstand though, you're not gonna carry anything with that arm. I just thought there should be something special you'd like to eat or so, being in the real world and all."

"I can carry just fine with my right arm." Hitsugaya replied, slightly irritated at being treated as an imbecile when he wasn't completely handicapped as an quick, unexpected sound escaped from his nose, accompanied by a weak gust of cold air and just a little snot running from his nose.

"Bless you." Ichigo handed him a napkin and after Hitsugaya wept his nose he had a puzzled expression on his face.

"What. . . was that?" He asked quietly.

"Hm, what?"

"That sudden. . . sound from my nose."

"What, you've never sneezed before?" Ichigo asked with a perplexed yet amused look on his face.

"That's what it's called?" Hitsugaya quirked an eyebrow, what purpose did it serve?

"So, you've never been sick?"

"No."

"Oh, sheesh. Lucky you." Ichigo said sarcastically. "Shinigamis don't get sick?"

"It's very rare and this is the first time I've heard about 'sneezing', let alone experiencing it. . ." The 10th Squad's Captain seemed to wonder about the fact for a while before Ichigo got him back to reality.

"You gonna get dressed so we can go? The storm's gonna be here this evening but it can't help to get this done early."

Hitsugaya nodded and returned to the Substitute's room in order to change from the pajamas to the other clothes his gigai had been equipped with from the beginning. It took some time, Ichigo even called from downstairs and wondered if he was okay by himself until Hitsugaya came down, dressed in normal clothes, a black sweater and beige trousers and his phone safely tucked away in his pocket. He had tried reaching Soul Society once more, only to meet static noise over the line and he doubted Urahara would have greater luck but hoping never hurt.

Outside the sun was nowhere to be seen since it was hidden behind gray clouds, holding the same color of thick ash. The air was cool and snow was to be expected at any moment which made them hasten their pace a little.

The supermarket was very crowded with last-minutes shoppers but Hitsugaya didn't really need to stick to the Substitute's side, he could sense his reiatsu a mile away now that the pain was under control thanks to Tessai's treatment. The arm ached but it was bearable, so Hitsugaya wandered around but mostly kept to places within the store that wasn't completely crowded. A small child that had gotten separated from her mother among all the people ran past him in her haste and unintentionally bumped into Hitsugaya's injured arm.

A gasp found its way over his lips as a chock of intense pain spread from the broken bone, he grabbed the shelf in front of him with his working arm in order to collect himself slowly and regain his breath.

That was how Ichigo found him.

"Oi Toushirou, you alright?" He asked with a minor scared tone to his concern since Hitsugaya was almost as pale as his hair.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya." The young genius hissed between gritted teeth before he sighed and straighted himself. "And I'm fine, it's starting to numb out."

"I'll give you some painkillers when we get back, you look like you need that. You're all good to go?"

"Yes, no problem." Hitsugaya answered slowly.

"You don't want me to buy something for you?" Ichigo offered, after all, Hitsugaya was injured and staying at his place, being a little friendly couldn't hurt.

"No, I'm fine."

"There isn't anything you'd like to eat? Come on, there's gotta be something." Ichigo persisted.

"Watermelon." Hitsugaya finally replied, he was kind of curious if they tasted the same here as in Soul Society. Besides, it didn't seem like Ichigo would give up before he actually got to buy something for the small Captain.

Ichigo didn't really think that was the best thing to eat during winter but nevertheless he bought half a water melon for Hitsugaya that hadn't planned to stay in the real world and thus hadn't got any money with him.

On their way home, small snowflakes started to descend from the ashen-gray sky above, a gust of chilling wind ruffling the companions hair.

"We should hurry, looks like it will get worse soon." Ichigo took the lead with two plastic bags filled with food, one in each hand while Hitsugaya followed, he had persuaded Ichigo to let him carry the third bag, despite the other man's loud protests.

 _It really looks like there will be a storm._ Hitsugaya could feel it in the air, ice and snow being his element, cold would take a harsh grip of Karakura Town during the next few days. Somehow, he had a tingling feeling in his chest just thinking about it and couldn't really comprehend why.

Both he and Ichigo were silent for the rest of the way home, Hitsugaya liked thinking in silence while Ichigo couldn't find something to say.

At home, Ichigo refused to allow Hitsugaya to help packing up the groceries since he was wounded and his treatment of him made Hitsugaya a little annoyed, he didn't want to be treated as a kid, after all he was far older than Ichigo. But complaining about it would make him seem immature and thus, he kept his mouth shut for now.

It didn't take long for the wind to increase its power, soon a lot of snow fell from heaven above, Hitsugaya watched it from his chair next to the window. He didn't really trust human medicine, he barely trusted any medicine at all for that matter, so he had refused to take the painkillers Ichigo had offered him as they'd come home.

The pain was dull but seemed to react to the weather as it intensified ever so slightly, not that he would let Ichigo know, the Shinigami Substitute seemed concerned about him enough as it already was. For the time being Ichigo pretended not to be though as he sat in the couch watching television while Hitsugaya watched the snowflakes fall more and more rapidly.

The Captain only glanced at the screen from time to time but for the most part, he was focusing on the snowflakes, just watching his own element in movement brought him some kind of peace and took his mind of the problems he now encountered.

After an almost, but not completely, silent dinner, darkness starting to descend outside. Hitsugaya made one more fruitless attempt to contact Soul Society but just sighed when nothing happened, the snow hadn't stopped falling for even an moment.

"Still nothing." He said to Ichigo's wondering face before he got to ask the question.

"Perhaps Urahara-san has had some luck?"

"Then he would have contacted us by now, yes? I doubt he knows more than us about the situation there right now." Hitsugaya replied as Ichigo glanced out the window.

"But man, that's a lot of snow! If it doesn't stop soon, we'll really have trouble getting outside tomorrow."

Hitsugaya didn't reply, it didn't seem like it would let up any time soon.

Suddenly he shivered, an unfamiliar reiatsu making his skin crawl, he locked eyes with Ichigo.

"This is. . ."

"Ah." Hitsugaya agreed, without waiting for Ichigo to finish his sentence.

"Hollows."


	3. Night 1

Night 1

"Toushirou, leave this to me!" Ichigo said as he used his Shinigami representative badge and left his body in the living room, on his way to climb out the window to get to the Hollows above Karakura Town.

"Don't try to order a Captain around." Hitsugaya glared and swiftly swallowed a Soul Candy to rid himself of his gigai, felt the tingling sensation as faux body and soul separated, thereafter using his shunpo to catch up with Ichigo in the freezing night. The opponents were seven Hollows and Hitsugaya soon identified one of them as the leader, spreading ice and snow in its search for human souls to feast on.

"You're hurt, back down!" Ichigo protested, in his condition fighting would only make it harder for Hitsugaya to heal and Ichigo remembered all too well that the white-haired Shinigami had been in pain earlier.

"They're coming." Hyourinmaru was released from its scabbard, quickly finding its deadly course through one of the Hollow's skull, making the beast fade into the air.

Hitsugaya's left arm throbbed with a sting of pain but he grit his teeth and ignored it, to defeat these opponents Bankai wasn't necessary and steading most of his attack's weight with his right arm worked to get rid of the worst pressure done to his left one.

A Hollow growled, launching itself towards him, only to meet its fate against Hyourinmaru's sharp blade.

Ichigo got rid of another one with a deadly swing with Zangetsu, leaving the remaining enemies to the number of four.

"Toushirou, back down! With your injury this is just stupid!"

"This is nothing." Hitsugaya replied, he wasn't so weak that he couldn't handle Hollows of this caliber even with a broken arm.

Chilling wind blew straight through their clothes, leaving snow in its wake. The snow storm was increasing in power and Hitsugaya suddenly realized that the leader Hollow seemed to be the cause as its reiatsu gave the storm additional power.

"Kurosaki, if we take that one down this storm shouldn't be so bad as it is now. We charge and attack from two sides." He instructed, tightening his grip upon Hyourinmaru's hilt, the dragon enjoyed this weather, he could feel tingling appreciation in his hands and with that he took off with his shunpo.

"Hey Toushirou!" Ichigo came up alongside him with his shunpo, without listening to instructions and with several protests in store, only to receive a glare that told him that he really should do as Hitsugaya said so he rushed away according to plan.

One Hollow with the body structure of an huge gorilla suddenly appeared in his way, Hyourinmaru tore through the air with swift movement but didn't manage to cut it, the Hollow caught his sword with its huge hands, halting his advance towards the creature's head.

The white monster looked satisfied with itself, a wicked smile plastered upon its twisted face and Hitsugaya began to retreat from its range.

As he struggled to release Hyourinmaru by freezing his enemy another Hollow, snake-like in appearance charged towards him, jaws wide open to take a bite of his soul. Hitsugaya made the enemy in front of him shatter into thousands of ice particles and moved to finish his new foe off with one blow.

Pain scorched through his wounded arm for just one moment because of his too fast movement and that gave the Hollow the opportunity it was aiming for.

Deep fangs tore into Hitsugaya's already broken arm, the ice-wielder grunted in pain, refusing to scream out the torture it really caused his body. The youth could feel the teeth sinking in further, breaking the broken bone into more pieces, causing one of the bone shards to penetrate his skin, damaging his muscles on its way out. The chock almost made him drop Hyourinmaru that he held on to with his right arm just as the snake Hollow's head was separated from its body and the fangs in Hitsugaya's arm vanished into thin air.

"You alright Toushirou?" Ichigo demanded to know, concern written into the features of his face.

"Yes, it's not as bad as it looks." Hitsugaya hissed even though pain throbbed in his arm and a stream of blood escaped from his body through the wound, the outside chill made the pain even worse. He still held on to Hyourinmaru and quickly revised their situation, just the leader remained as Ichigo had gotten rid of the other Hollows.

"You wait here, I'll get rid of it!" With those words Ichigo charged with help of his shunpo but the fierce wind combined with freezing ice slowed his movements, giving the Hollow time to change position and counterattack. The Hollow, with the appearance of an big eagle shrieked angrily and lashed its sharp talons toward Ichigo, striking his chest which made blood flow and snow infiltrate the wound. Ichigo grunted in pain and made a new attempt to slash his enemy but once more the creature used the bad weather to its advantage and countered his attack.

Ichigo cursed before raising to attack once more, only to cut off by a Shikai invocation.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya's battle cry echoed through Karakura Town as the mighty ice dragon answered his master's call and emerged from his sword, digging its fangs into the monstrous Hollow's throat, desperately the beast struggled to get free, only bringing its own demise closer by resisting. Ice was quickly growing on the monster's inside, choking it.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" The black energy wave from Zangetsu hit the foe head-on in its chest and ended its struggle, the Hollow disappeared with a pained howl, leaving the two wounded Shinigamis in a snow storm that still seemed to know no end.

Hitsugaya felt cold to the marrow, his open wound making it easier for the chill to infiltrate him. He couldn't move the fingers on his left hand, let alone the arm itself and honestly didn't want to try since pain shot through it with every breath he took. One of the bone shards was half-way out, blood dripping from it towards the white, snowy ground below them.

"Toushirou, let's go back! We'll freeze to death if we stay here any longer!" Ichigo said, shaking from the cold wind that blew through bone and marrow alike, Hitsugaya didn't bother to comment the irony. After all, he was already dead, nothing else than a spirit. He didn't know how he had died and ended up in Soul Society from the beginning and didn't really want to know either.

All he did was nod and follow Ichigo back to the house, getting into his gigai made him wince as the pain transferred from his soul into the faux body. Getting a good look at his injury in the light of the kitchen lamp made him aware of how bad it looked and he found pretty much his own expression mirrored on Ichigo's face.

"Oh man, that doesn't look good." Ichigo hesitated but took a gentle grip of the other's arm in order to be able to measure the range of his injuries better. The touch made Hitsugaya wince in pain and Ichigo hastily let go, scratching his head with a concerned and uncertain look on his face.

"I really wish Inoue was in town, she could have fixed this in a second." Sure, Ichigo was the son of a doctor, but hardly a doctor himself and if that was left on its own, it would definitely not mend as it should.

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth in order to hold the pain in as much as he could before he quietly said:

"Can you do something, anything to make the pain just a little easier to bear?"

Ichigo seemed to think for about one minute before answering.

"I doubt that I'll be able to reduce the pain much even if I try to put the bones right, who knows how many pieces your arm has been shattered into?" He sighed. "All I can do is clean the wound so it doesn't get infected and give you painkillers."

"Then do that." Hitsugaya said in a strained whisper. "Please." He added after a few seconds of silence. Right now he didn't really mind his earlier suspicions towards the medicine, as long as it reduced the pain by any amount, no matter how little.

Ichigo was quite surprised to see the look and hear the pained voice of his companion, it only proved how much pain Hitsugaya really was in and it gave Ichigo a chilling feeling in his gut.

"Be right back."

Ichigo quickly went to get what he would need, also for his own wound that mostly bleed without too much pain, he was far more worried about Hitsugaya than himself and felt anger towards his own stupidity. He should never had let the Captain leave the house in his wounded state, now it had only become worse and he was really worried about how he would be able to make it any better.

After fixing up Hitsugaya as well as he possibly could as well as his own injuries Ichigo tried dialing Inoue Orihime. Hopefully it wasn't too late, even if the snowstorm raged through Karakura Town, maybe she could still come back before it got too bad. The snow kept falling at a rapid rate outside so perhaps the Hollow really hadn't made things that much worse after all.

Ichigo felt that if anyone could help now, it was Inoue and her healing abilities, he couldn't stand Hitsugaya being in so much pain. He looked like a kid, though he certainly wasn't but watching someone that looked around Karin and Yuzu's age kind of made Ichigo's heart ache, Hitsugaya shouldn't need to hurt like that.

Yet all he heard on the other end of the line was a voice repeating that the call couldn't be connected due to technical difficulties. Ichigo let out an disappointed sigh before he dialed another number and managed to reach the desired person.

"It's me, old man." He greeted his father as the other picked up the phone.

"Ichigo, the weather is pretty bad here so you might disappear at any moment!" His father replied hastily and Ichigo found it hard to catch all the words because of static in the background.

"Okay, it's really bad here too but. . ." He quickly tried to explain the situation. "I've got a friend with a broken arm, one part is sticking out through the muscles. What should I do?"

"Huh? What did you say?" Kurosaki Isshin replied, his voice fading in volume, making it hard to hear the words.

"A friend's arm is broken, the bone's sticking out! What should I do?" Ichigo tried but barely managed to catch his dad's reply, only some words got through to him.

". . . take to. . . hospital. . . surgery. . . be needed. . ." The line fell silent and the conversation left Ichigo with a bad feeling in his gut.

It might need surgery? Well, he could figure that one out since part of the bone was on the outside but taking him to the hospital would be impossible in this weather. The snow had already gathered to such amounts that getting outside through the door was nearly impossible, driving a car, definitely impossible. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to come in contact with the hospital even if he tried dialing them. Explaining the great bit mark on Hitsugaya's arm would also prove difficult. In any case the ambulance wouldn't be able to get there because of the weather, Ichigo sighed, now this was a great situation.

As he returned to the kitchen he found Hitsugaya using his own phone, to no avail it seemed if you read the thoughtful and annoyed expression upon his face.

"Still no connection to Soul Society." He informed without lifting his gaze from the phone's screen, pain was etched into the lines of his face and Ichigo didn't like the sight at all.

"I can't really get any contact with the outside world either, the snowstorm's blocking the signals." He sat down on a kitchen chair and watched Hitsugaya's face.

"Did the painkillers help any?"

"Thanks to them the arm feels numb now." Was the reply he received. Hitsugaya didn't really like the feeling of numbness in the least but it was better than the pain he otherwise had to endure. Yet he was almost shaking, he had never had any trouble with cold, ice being his element but right now he shivered from the cold they had escaped just a while ago. Ichigo didn't see it at first but as Hitsugaya failed to suppress a new shiver he noticed.

"You're cold?"

"No." Hitsugaya replied, a bit too fast for it to sound completely truthful.

"Sheesh, why can't you just be more honest with people around you?" Ichigo sighed, immediately receiving a glare from the ice-wielder which he purposefully ignored and went into the living room for a blanket that he handed to Hitsugaya who hesitantly took it.

"You should have just left those Hollows to me. Now look at you, just because you were being stubborn!" Ichigo complained, actually he was just as mad at himself for not being able to stop the white-haired Shinigami as at Toushirou for refusing to listen.

Hitsugaya put the blanket upon his shoulders, which thankfully reduced the shivers and gave Ichigo such an icy glare that the orange-haired teenager couldn't help but taking one step backwards. The temperature felt like it was falling rapidly inside the kitchen.

"I don't believe a mere Shinigami Substitute has the right to question a Captain's authority in Hollow matters Kurosaki. Hollows are a Shinigami's job to exterminate and as a matter of fact, I have the power needed to get your Representative badge taken away – permanently." Hitsugaya spoke calmly but the masked threat in the other's turquoise eyes told Ichigo that he had stepped on a land mine.

Yet that didn't mean he would back down.

"You still could have died 'cause you were being plain foolish!" Ichigo shouted.

"Doing my duty as a Captain comes first in any situation." Hitsugaya wasn't giving in to provocation and his normal tone made Ichigo mad.

"What, you don't care if you die?"

"That'll just mean I'll be reborn, end of story." He had two reasons to live, to protect Hinamori and defeat Aizen but he wasn't going to tell Ichigo that.

In fact he was tired and just wanted this argument to end, it was in the middle of the night after all and he didn't feel a need to explain himself further to the Substitute, why should he in the first place? Hitsugaya got up from the chair and started to remove himself from the kitchen.

"What about the people around you? You don't think they'll be sad if you get killed just because you chose your duty over your life?"

"I prefer to think that they would be proud." Hitsugaya replied quietly.

"Wouldn't you cry if the ones you cared about went and got themselves killed for such a stupid reason as duty? You have a duty towards your friends too Toushirou, to stay alive!"

A crack of ice appeared in the window, making Ichigo's shouting stop for a second. Both of them turned their surprised gazes towards the window but nothing else happened, all that was heard was the fierce wind outside, trying to force itself into the house. Hitsugaya used the sudden confusion to retreat back to Ichigo's room, leaving the argument unfinished.

He hadn't meant to cause the window to crack, he had only let a little reiatsu slip out in order to make the temperature drop a bit more, proving his authority as Captain yet it had been so much that the window almost broke. Hitsugaya could feel his own reiryoku vibrating, eager to be used and it was a weird feeling when he wasn't on a battlefield.

Was his reiryoku unbalanced because of his injuries? It could be the cause but Hitsugaya didn't think about it so much, his thoughts slipped back to their argument.

 _Don't talk as if you know anything about me Kurosaki._ He felt bitter, Ichigo didn't know anything about him, he had reasons to live and honestly he didn't really care what people would think if he died.

He reminisced his days as a child in Rukongai and how the other children had been scared of him, for no real reason at all. Those days had left a kind of scar in his soul, he always had to prove himself, that he wasn't a kid and that he was a worthy Captain of the 10th Protection Squad. Ichigo didn't know anything about all of that so he didn't have a right to talk about it.

 _Besides, I'm not even sure if I would cry._ In the end, he wasn't sure if he was capable to. He saw Hinamori, Matsumoto and plenty of the other Shinigamis as companions who he would fight to protect but crying for them if they died?

That just sounded wrong, why cry when someone was granted the chance of being reborn and  _live_ in both body and soul? Sure, it wasn't as if he  _wanted_ them to die, he would fight to protect them from death but crying if they passed on when he knew they would be given new lives? The thought left Hitsugaya at a loss of answers, he would miss several people if it occurred yet not allow himself to cry.

After sitting alone in the darkness of Ichigo's room for a while Hitsugaya found the sleep impossible to postpone any longer, he put himself carefully in lying position, making sure not to move the arm more than absolutely necessary nor lying on it. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep, still dressed in normal clothes since changing into Karin's pajamas felt like too much of a bother.


	4. Day 2

Day 2

Hitsugaya groaned in his mind and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, trying to fall asleep once more but soon finding it difficult, really difficult. His arm felt like it had come from Hell and was determined to pull him into its depths, now that the effect of the medicine had faded.

Slowly, he got up to sitting position, very carefully not to move his arm but that proved to be almost impossible and the pain of a thousand blades pierced through the broken bone and thrashed muscle with every movement. He had actually slept longer than he thought he would, the sky was still gray outside and a lot of snow fell but it was past morning, at least that's what he thought.

The 10th Squad Captain was getting genuinely irritated with this situation, how hard could it be to get in touch with Soul Society, get back there, get healed and live on as if nothing happened? He wished it could be that easy, just once in a while. Thanks of that small hope, he reached for the phone he still had in his pocket and put it to his ear as he sat up, letting his wounded arm lay motionless in his lap.

This time he actually heard something, a weak, almost inaudible beep amongst all the static, a proof of connection!

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" He asked normally, not letting himself get carried away because of one small little wish that wanted to be granted. He tensed as the beep still was everything he could hear on the other end of the line.

"This is Captain Hitsugaya of the 10th Protection Squad, requesting status report." He gave it another try, yet heard nothing else than the beep dying out, vanishing.

He couldn't help but feel quite disappointed, just when he had thought  _something_  might work out in his life.

And then:

"Cap...tain Hitsu...gaya?" The words were divided, interrupted by static but he swore he could hear a voice he knew.

"Ukitake?"

"Are... you... al...right?" was the reply Hitsugaya could hear.

"Yes, I'm..." Hitsugaya paused, he wasn't really okay, the arm still throbbed painfully in his lap but he tried to ignore that for now. "...fine. Ukitake, what has happened?"

"Senkai… Gate… closed…"

"Why is it closed?" Hitsugaya demanded to know as another voice joined in on their barely manageable conversation, a voice that he knew and found himself somewhat relieved to hear.

"Captain!"

"Matsumoto?" So she still was in Soul Society.

If that was the case, was he the only one that had gotten through to the real world? But why was the Senkai Gate closed now?

He hadn't heard any orders being issued about closing it, most definitely not when he and the others were supposed to go through in order to check the Hollow activity of Karakura Town.

"Captain… are you…?" Hitsugaya couldn't catch the last words of the sentence.

"Repeat, Matsumoto." No respond came.

"Matsumoto." Still nothing, the static had cut through the connection.

"Tch." He put away the phone again, once more in an annoyed mood and questions clinging to his mind like a sticky spiderweb.

What was going on in Soul Society if they decided to close the gate out of nowhere? For now, all he could to was most likely waiting for Soul Society to contact him and not the other way around, when they got the connection going again, he would surely be notified.

The sudden conversation had made him forget his own injury for just a few minutes but looking at his own miserable state now made him annoyed. He wanted an explanation which seemed like it would have to wait, alone in Ichigo's room he watched the snowflakes as they rushed to the ground thinking hard about everything, not that it helped any.

After a while, his stomach growled loudly.

 _Guess I have no choice, got to eat something._ A hiss of pain was close to passing over his lips when he got up but he managed to stop it, he wasn't going to appear weak even if no one was there to see him. His arm was limp at his side and sending his brain signals of painful agony that he would do almost anything to get rid of.

In the kitchen he found Ichigo and a window that had been temporarily fixed with thick duct tape.

"You really think that's going to hold for more than a few minutes?" He stated quietly, a bit amazed by Ichigo's stupidity.

"If it breaks, there's always more duct tape." Ichigo replied with a small grin that really didn't impress Hitsugaya, it just led him to believe that the Shinigami Substitute he was living with for the time being was a total moron.

Ichigo hadn't forgotten about their argument in the middle of the night and how Hitsugaya had managed to escape it before the end but for now he was a bit more concerned about the white-haired Shinigami's injury since the expression of ache beyond this world seemed to linger just beneath Hitsugaya's normal, uninterested and quite cold look.

"How's your arm?"

The look of concern reminded Hitsugaya sharply of pity and he didn't like it, he wasn't a child that Ichigo had to watch over, yet he shrugged off his annoyance and had a feeling that it mostly came to the surface because he was hungry and the pain was almost making him dizzy if he moved too fast.

"I'll live." Was the short reply he supplied Ichigo with before making his way to the kitchen cupboard where he had seen Ichigo putting away the medicine last night, why he hadn't put it in the medicine cupboard in the bathroom wasn't something Hitsugaya bothered to ask. He sighed in his mind when he realized that the cupboard was too far up for him to reach, making him frown impatiently.

Before he managed to pull off a small shunpo, Ichigo reached into the cupboard and handed him a small bottle of medicine pills.

"Just don't take them on a empty stomach." He warned, not wanting the other Shinigami to be sick also when he was trying to mend a broken bone.

"Alright." Hitsugaya didn't really grasp why but did as he was told, Ichigo had already eaten but had left a few sandwiches for Hitsugaya to ingest. The orange-hair didn't really want to strike up the argument again, not just yet since it was clear Hitsugaya thought there was nothing else to be added to the matter.

Ichigo disappeared, leaving the ice-wielder alone in the kitchen. The Captain couldn't help but think that Ichigo was being quite thoughtful of him but wasn't sure if he was just happy about the fact or mostly annoyed. Sure, he was thankful but wouldn't admit that for the time being, not after how Ichigo had spoken about things he knew nothing about.

Outside the snowstorm seemed never ending, snow and wind was combining to a violent force to be reckoned with and he understood that the best thing to do would be to wait for the storm to die out by itself. Hitsugaya could feel his reiatsu tingling in his soul again, not entirely sure why. Was it because of his affinity with the cold building up outside? He wasn't sure and didn't get much time to think about it as he heard a loud thud coming from the living room.

Thanks to his keen senses, he was soon there, with one hand on Hyourinmaru's hilt without really noticing it, he took the Zanpakutou with him wherever he went, but the sight that awaited him quickly made him let go of his weapon.

"What are you doing Kurosaki?" He asked the pile of futon, down quilt and pillows at the bottom of the stair, soon finding the familiar bush of orange hair whose owner groaned and rubbed his yaw, which had hit the floor. Luckily, the wound on his chest didn't start bleeding again from the impact.

"Since the storm's getting worse, I thought we should make sure to stay in the living room. It'll be easier to keep warm here than upstairs since it's closer to the heater and who knows how long we'll have electricity?" Ichigo answered as he untangled himself from the futon and started putting most of the things in place.

"If we want to keep the warmth here, we should seal off the areas we don't need for the moment. Yet I'm surprised you thought of this." Hitsugaya admitted, he was almost impressed.

"It has happened once before so I know what to do."

"Figures." Hitsugaya said mostly to himself before picking up the stray pillows left on the floor and put them in the sofa.

"You shouldn't carry anything." Ichigo quickly protested..

"It's a couple of  _pillows_ Kurosaki. And I still have no trouble using my right arm." He retorted, determined not to roll his eyes at the other man's need to protect him which started to get a bit annoying, at least when he treated him as a kid.

Before Ichigo could object Hitsugaya returned to the kitchen and finished the last of his sandwich, swallowed the medicine pill, went up to Ichigo's bedroom to get Karin's pajamas and then came back to the living room.

"I assume we don't need anything else from the second floor?" He asked Ichigo.

"No, don't think so." Ichigo replied, a bit curios about Hitsugaya's focused expression. "What are you gonna do?"

"Just stand back." Hitsugaya was a bit unsure of how this would work since his reiryoku felt a bit unbalanced and somehow eager to be used at the moment but nevertheless, he would give it a try.

Hitsugaya wasn't a kidou expert for nothing, he didn't need to say any incantation, the glasslike barrier quickly took form and sealed off the staircase and the entrance so that only the kitchen, bathroom and living room were accessible. His reiatsu fell silent again once it had been used and made him feel a bit safer, he had managed to balance it properly before attempting the kidou spell so he thankfully hadn't caused any cracks in the windows this time.

"With this, the cold won't get in. It's hard to destroy from the outside, but quite easy from the inside if we need to get out." He explained to Ichigo's amazed and wondering face before he settled himself in the sofa, feeling satisfied with his work.

"Oh, sounds good. This kidou stuff can be pretty useful huh?"

"You've got no idea." Hitsugaya answered with a slightly amused smirk that Ichigo wasn't sure he really liked to see.

The white-haired Shinigami's head perked up as he listened intensely to something which made Ichigo give him a curios look.

"What's up?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ichigo tried listening for something yet didn't hear anything weird, only the sound of the rushing wind and snow outside. "I don't hear anything special."

"That's strange." Hitsugaya commented, he could've sworn he had heard a dog barking nearby but the sound had now died out and if Ichigo hadn't heard anything, perhaps it had only been the wind or his imagination. "Never mind I suppose."

The rest of the day went past slowly, Ichigo was mostly sitting on the couch watching television while Hitsugaya spent his time by the window again, trying to deal with his throbbing arm, watching the snow fall or reading some book that Ichigo lent him from his father's bookshelf, the two Shinigamis didn't exchange many words at all.

Hitsugaya wasn't really interested in TV since he couldn't for the mercy of Soukyoku understand what purpose it was supposed to serve, they didn't really say anything relevant, only the news which shed some light to the situation. The snowstorm was severe over several places but had its center in Karakura Town and didn't seem to be letting up soon. They would probably have to spend a few days isolated there.

"Hey Toushirou." It was already evening and darkness had fallen outside, the both of them had eaten dinner, Hitsugaya had taken more medicine to ease the pain and they were now sitting on the couch and next to the window respectively again when Ichigo spoke up.

"How many times do I have to tell you it's  _Captain Hitsugaya_ for you?" He growled, sending a deadly glare towards his temporary roommate, who didn't notice since he had his back against the white-haired prodigy. "What do you want?" The guest from Soul Society mumbled at last, obviously annoyed.

"I've just been thinking about something. Do you remember how you died?" The orange-haired Substitute asked.

After all Hitsugaya was a spirit without a body, meant to live as a Shinigami until he was reborn and that would only be possible by dying once more. Ichigo turned his head to face the other man and was kind of surprised to see that Hitsugaya's face was pretty much unchanged as if he couldn't care less about the question. He just seemed a bit lost in thought for a moment before answering:

"No, I don't remember. Most Shinigamis don't. The lives they've been living on earth, all memories of that disappear as you enter Soul Society. It's like being reborn, just as a spirit without body."

"Wait, you said most Shinigamis don't. But there are some that does remember then?"

"Some Shinigamis and spirits remember pieces of their past. If they remember anything at all, the moment of their deaths are usually what stays in their soul." Hitsugaya replied, for some reason he didn't like the subject and was glad he wasn't one among the poor souls that remembered the fear, or relief of dying.

"How come?" Ichigo asked.

"There is no real explanation." The ice-wielder paused before continuing, his voice a bit lower than earlier. "My guess is that sometimes their deaths are so sad, or violent that it leaves a mark on their souls but not bad enough to eat away on their soul to transform them into Hollows nor making their spirits remain in the real world."

"Hm, all this soul business seems pretty complicated if you ask me." Ichigo said and scratched the back of his head.

"It might be beyond humans' ability to comprehend. Some things we are just not meant to understand." Hitsugaya quietly agreed.

Since it was evening they decided to go to bed, Ichigo wouldn't shut up about how much more relaxed Hitsugaya would feel if he slept in Karin's pajamas instead of his casual clothes so after a lot of argument he let the Substitute help him change his attire. Without help it was impossible and even though the pain was kind of numbed by the pills Hitsugaya had taken, the arm still hurt a lot as soon as the bones moved.

Lying down on the couch felt like a relief for him when they were ready to sleep, Ichigo slept on the floor on a futon since it would be easier for Hitsugaya to get up in the morning without having to use his arm too much if he slept on the couch.

The ice-wielder pulled the warm cover tighter around his small, childlike frame as he couldn't help but shiver, even though it was kind of hot inside the living room. For some reason he was also feeling drained so his body soon ignored the fact its limbs felt a bit cold and Hitsugaya fell asleep.

Later that night Hitsugaya experienced something new about the knowledge of sneezing. When you sneeze, sometime not just a little snot accompany the sudden sound and movement in your nose.

No, sometimes there is a  _lot_ of snot forcing its way out of your nose even if you try to keep it in.

Time was somewhere after midnight when Hitsugaya awoke due to the fact that he kept sneezing, not once nor twice but five times in a row. His head felt like he couldn't think straight and his body sluggish, slow and he gasped in pain when he tried to sit up since his arm started to throb with a painful slash through his arm with every heartbeat. His right hand was almost covered in snot when he tried to stop it from getting out.

Ichigo woke up because of Hitsugaya's sneezing and sat up on his futon.

"What's up with you, sneezing like that?" He mumbled sleepily and yawned.

"It's nothing." Hitsugaya found to his own surprise that his voice sounded croaked, like a raven's as he used it to try to convince Ichigo that he was fine. His mind was slow to grasp the situation but he struggled to get his head to work, one thing was for sure.

He had never felt this much like shit.

Ichigo got up from his futon as Hitsugaya once more broke out in sneezing, he handed the small Shinigami a couple of napkins, he wasn't sure if he really had heard correctly, Hitsugaya's croaked voice and his sneezing made it seem like he was down with a cold.

The orange-haired man sat down at the edge of the couch.

"Almost sounds like you're sick." He said sleepily and put his hand on Hitsugaya's forehead, just to assure himself that wasn't the case. After all, Shinigamis didn't get sick.

That was when Ichigo realized Hitsugaya's face was pale, yet his cheeks were flushed with fever and his forehead was hot and slightly sweaty against Ichigo's hand.

"Oh boy..."

This didn't feel good.


	5. Night 2 - Day 3

Night 2 – Day 3

Ichigo carefully made Hitsugaya lay down again, worry etched into the lines of his face.

"You have fever, a really high one too. Just stay still, I'll get a few things that will help." He spoke quickly and Hitsugaya could hear that his voice was strained in order to hide his true concern.

Hitsugaya was burning up, it wasn't a normal fever, it wasn't even normal for Shinigamis to get sick in the first place! Ichigo's head was almost spinning as he tried to figure out what he would need. A bowl of cold water, a cloth, medicine and...

"Toushirou, does your throat hurt too?"

Hitsugaya opened one turquoise eye, he had been close to falling asleep again, despite his arm in its pained state and falling asleep felt like a good idea. Then perhaps he wouldn't feel like shit when he woke up again.

"No, it's just itching." He mumbled tiredly, not even bothering to tell the Substitute to call him by his title and this made Ichigo even more on edge. How sick was he really?

Ichigo came back into the living room and after drenching the cloth in the cold water he gently placed it on Hitsugaya's hot forehead, the same way he had put it upon Karin's and Yuzu's whenever they had been sick. The young Captain let out a quiet sigh of relief at the feeling, now that felt good against the heat. He had never liked hot weather and having this fever was definitely not something he enjoyed in the least.

"Can you sit up again, just a minute?" Ichigo asked after a couple of minutes, his voice pulled Hitsugaya back from the realm of sleep he had been close to entering and he slowly nodded.

With a gasp of pain he was close to fall back unto the couch but slowly pulled himself up in a sitting position, with a bit of help from Ichigo. The orange-hair gave him a cup of steaming hot tea once he was sitting up, he also put a few slices of watermelon on the living room table in front of the small genius.

"Watermelon is easy to eat and warm tea is good for your throat if it hurts. And you can't take more medicine without filling your stomach with something first." He explained to Hitsugaya's wondering and pained face. Without knowing it himself, he looked as sluggish as he felt.

Hitsugaya ate, slowly but surely, the real world's watermelon wasn't half bad, almost as good as Soul Society's he noted to himself before being given the medicine, swallowing it with a sip of hot tea. Afterwards he laid down again and felt almost a little better when Ichigo put the wet, cold cloth upon his forehead once more. His arm still hurt like hell but the pain was starting to numb out thanks to the medicine.

"Just sleep now, you'll surely feel better in the morning." At least, that was what Ichigo innerly hoped.

"Aa." Hitsugaya didn't bother to say anything more, sleep was already descending its clutches upon his sluggish mind.

He didn't notice Ichigo putting the down quilt properly over his resting figure before the orange-haired teenager went back to his futon, with a frown on his face. Hitsugaya had obviously fallen asleep, his breathing was slightly croaked as air passed over his lips and his cheeks were still red from fever but he seemed to be at peace, at least for now.

Ichigo wasn't as relaxed as his sick companion.

How had Hitsugaya gotten sick to begin with? It didn't really make any sense for him to suddenly have a fever that bad. Even though Ichigo stayed awake for a while and tried to figure out how that had happened he ended up with not a sign of answers, one or two hours passed before he managed to fall asleep too.

* * *

Hitsugaya awoke to the sound of joyful dog barking a couple of hours later, his teal eyes opened instantly the moment he recognized the noise, it wasn't just imagination! It couldn't be, he could hear it as clear as his own breathing! He quickly sat up in order to determine from whence it came but let out a silent, yet agonized gasp when his arm reminded him of its broken state by sending pain from the edge of hell through his nerves.

Ichigo almost jumped in the chair where he had been sitting, he had woken up some time earlier and positioned himself at the chair, watching Hitsugaya seem kind of peaceful in his sleep, only to all of a sudden find the youth sitting up, completely awake and looking around, obviously looking for something or someone.

"Hey Toushirou, you okay?" Ichigo asked with concern and took up the wet cloth that had fallen off the Captain's forehead in his quick movement.

Hitsugaya's turquoise eyes slowly turned and focused on Ichigo, he had a confused look on his young yet knowledgeable face.

"...Kurosaki?" He said through gritted teeth after a brief pause, long enough for Ichigo to wet the cloth and putting it in place upon Hitsugaya's forehead again.

"Yeah, who do you think?" Ichigo couldn't help but say yet his sarcasm soon died as he watched Hitsugaya's confusion. "Toushirou, what's wrong? You need more medicine?" Obviously he did, his fever hadn't really decreased at all during the night and his arm was clearly making him hurt. But since Hyourinmaru's master looked so absentminded Ichigo couldn't help but fear something more was wrong.

"Yes." Hitsugaya paused, trying to collect himself, the sound of a dog barking had died out, only the chilling wind was heard outside. "Yes, I think I need that." He replied, careful not to clutch his arm that was, once more, hurting as if Hell's fire was burning inside it.

His whole body felt hot and Hitsugaya had never been someone that enjoyed warmth in more than a normal extent, summer was a big bother for him, far too hot for his liking. Now that his body felt just as warm as it would on a day of summer he wasn't pleased.

Being sick absolutely sucked.

"Just wait here, I'll be back with something for you to eat." Ichigo assured, trying to sound way more relaxed than he actually felt. He soon came back some soup he had managed to heat on the stove without burning it, Yuzu had been thoughtful and made it in advance so that her brother didn't need to live on only fast-food while they were gone. He hadn't believed it would be that useful though.

He carefully put the tray on Hitsugaya's lap.

"No medicine on a empty stomach, so eat."

Hitsugaya glanced at the food with a disapproving look, he didn't really feel like eating anything even if the soup did smell good.

"What's up? Want me to feed you?" Ichigo asked when minutes passed and Hitsugaya hadn't picked up the spoon from the tray yet.

It had the effect the Shinigami Substitute desired.

"Please refrain from using such stupid comments in my presence Kurosaki." Hitsugaya muttered and started to eat, it felt like his pride would be damaged, badly, if he didn't. Just the thought about letting Ichigo feed him and Matsumoto finding out about it was almost bad enough to make him shiver.

The soup was tasty, he couldn't deny that, even if his sense of taste was a bit off due to the cold. Somehow, eating soup felt familiar and almost gave him a warm feeling he couldn't really describe inside, it wasn't even uncomfortable.

" _Toushirou, now eat up. You'll never get better if you don't eat."_ Hitsugaya's head perked up and he watched Ichigo who gave him a slightly confused look.

"What?"

"Did you say something?" The young prodigy asked curiously, Ichigo shook his head.

"Never mind then." He muttered silently and started to eat the soup again, before it would get cold. He couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy though, why was he hearing things from time to time?

Perhaps being sick made his mind flip more than he knew.

The words had made something inside him tingle, they had sounded so gentle and somehow so familiar but he could put his finger on why. And obviously, Ichigo hadn't been the one that said so then who the hell had? If being sick meant hearing things that really weren't said, then it just made his opinion about sickness even more clear.

It sucked.

Hitsugaya didn't want to admit it, yet he felt relief when Ichigo passed him the pills once he had eaten most of the soup and Ichigo had taken the tray away, the warm substance had caused the itching to subside and the medicine would take the worst pain away.

He didn't like it but he was depending on the small medicine capsules that he wouldn't even have thought about taking if it weren't for his broken arm, they were helping after all.

After swallowing the pills, all he could do was wait for the pain to go away and leave him at some peace, it didn't really feel like he had slept enough either. He didn't notice his own eyelids closing.

* * *

Hitsugaya slowly opened one of his teal eyes as some kind of sound interfered with his much desired sleep, whatever it was that woke him up it was annoying and he hoped that Ichigo would make it stop soon. Then his sluggish brain connected the dots since he could hear Ichigo's voice at the same time as the shrilling sound was cut short.

"Toushirou? Yeah, he's here but..." The orange-haired man spoke so quietly that Hitsugaya barely could make out the words.

He quickly sat up and thanked the King of Soul Society for the fact that his arm was still kind of numb thanks to the painkillers, dizziness engulfed him as he sat up too quickly but the feeling thankfully disappeared fast. He couldn't remember having putting his cellphone away, so obviously Ichigo must have taken it out of his pocket while the genius was sleeping.

"Kurosaki," He demanded but his voice broke into a croaked cough before he could finish the sentence.

"The phone." He finished when his fit was over.

Ichigo glanced towards Hitsugaya with a look of worry in his black eyes, seeming a bit surprised and disappointed to find the ice-wielder awake. But he handed him the phone without retorting, Hitsugaya put it to his ear, cleared his throat, which made it hurt more, before saying:

"10th Squad Captain." He found no need to say anymore, since no one else than Soul Society knew this number and he wanted to speak as little as possible since his throat throbbed painfully.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Came the relieved reply, a voice he recognized.

"Ukitake, how are things over there?" He was happy to find the static less audible this time, perhaps now he could find something out.

"Ever since you left for the living world we're keeping the Senkai Gate closed, no one is to pass through the Severing World." Ukitake answered, Hitsugaya could hear concern in his voice.

"For what reason is it closed?"

"Apparently, something is wrong with the Cleaners and..." Ukitake didn't get to finish before another voice cut in.

"Captain Hitsugaya, before we get to that problem I would like to ask a few questions." That voice, dripping with scientific interest made a chill go down Hitsugaya's spine.

"What Kurotsuchi?" The 12th Captain wasn't a person he really felt like talking to at the moment and he couldn't stop himself before he broke out into a new cough.

Ichigo was soon beside him and carefully patted his back to help it subside before he handed the white-haired Shinigami a glass of water which he drank with gratitude.

"Now what was that?" Kurotsuchi Mayuri asked, clearly a bit annoyed because he had been interrupted in his interrogation while Ukitake and a third voice which Hitsugaya identified as Matsumoto's cut into the conversation.

"Captain, are you alright?" Matsumoto asked, it was obvious that she was worried about him which made him unsure of what to feel. He was kind of happy she cared but irritated about the fact that it might be since he was a 'child'.

"Yes, kind of. My left arm is broken and pretty useless at the moment, but no problems besides that." He said, acting as if it was nothing.

That didn't work on Matsumoto, god why had he hoped it would?

"What? Captain, how did that-"

"Anyhow, to get to my questions. Captain Hitsugaya, what happened inside the Senkai Gate?" Kurotsuchi demanded to know, cutting off Matsumoto's concern. Hitsugaya could hear the background static gaining volume.

"I don't remember what happened inside Kurotsuchi, everything between the moment I stepped inside it and got out on this side is blank." He replied, annoyed with his situation and the fact that he knew almost nothing about what was going on.

"So you remember nothing from the Severing World?" The scientist concluded.

"That's what I just said!" Hitsugaya muttered, the 12th Squad was sometimes more than he could handle under normal circumstances, being sick made Hitsugaya's patience shrink a lot. "Now are you going to tell me exactly what is going on?"

"Well captain Hitsugaya, apparently some kind of disturbance has appeared inside the Severing World and-" Ukitake began quietly, Kurotsuchi was starting to argue with the 13th Captain since he hadn't gotten all his questions answered yet but their voices began to fade rapidly, making it impossible to catch the words.

"Ukitake, repeat." Only static noise met his voice and with a irritated 'tch' Hitsugaya put the cellphone back on the living room table before he laid down as comfortably as he could on the couch again, sighing.

"So, any news?" Ichigo wondered curiously as he put the cold cloth upon Hitsugaya's warm forehead again, it had fallen off because of Hitsugaya's sudden movement.

"Not really, the Senkai Gate is closed but they didn't manage to tell me the reason for its shutdown before the call was disconnected." Hitsugaya mumbled and focused a narrow turquoise eye at Ichigo's form as the orange-haired had put the cloth on the annoyed ice-wielder's head.

"I'm capable of doing that myself." His voice was low, almost threatening. Hitsugaya's temper was really short due to sickness and being treated as a helpless kid was seriously getting on his nerves.

"Face it Toushirou, you're not able to do this yourself when you're this sick!" Ichigo argued, making Hitsugaya scowl. Yes, he was grateful for Ichigo's concern but god, was he tired of having to be taken care of! Why couldn't this sickness just disappear?

He felt deadly tired so the will to protest quickly died out but he managed to mutter:

"It's  _Captain Hitsugaya_." Before drifting off once more.

* * *

Later that night Ichigo woke up, shivering his brown eyes widening as he slowly sat up, teeth clattering against each other. Snow was forming on the couch where Hitsugaya had been sleeping, chilling wind forced its way into the living room from the crack in the kitchen window and the temperature felt far too low for appropriate human environment.

Yet Ichigo was far more concerned with something else than the freezing cold inside the house at the moment. The kidou barrier Hitsugaya had put up around the living room, bathroom and kitchen was gone and the sick Shinigami Captain himself was not on the couch.

In fact, he was nowhere to be seen. Ichigo hastily checked all the rooms but Hitsugaya wasn't there, the open window in Ichigo's room gave him a really bad feeling in his gut. The Shinigami Substitute tried to calm himself down in order to be able to trace the other's reiatsu.

"Shit!" After quickly finding his Shinigami Badge and leaving his body under a mountain of blankets, Ichigo rushed out into the night.


	6. Night 3

Night 3

_Cold._

That was almost all Hitsugaya's mind bothered to acknowledge as he walked, barefooted through the snowy landscape that now was Karakura Town. It looked like the whole town was being embraced by the snowstorm, transforming into a frozen shell of its former self.

One more thing was on his mind, the echo of a dog's barking that seemed to beckon him forward.

Why did he hear it? Why did he feel like he had to follow the sound? His mind felt sluggish, confused yet the feeling of having to go refused to vanish so he slowly kept on walking. He couldn't feel his feet and he didn't get further than a total of a hundred fifty meters before collapsing in the snow.

The chilling wind ran straight through his limbs, snow accompanying its path, making his body limp and motionless from the cold. His arm was throbbing but he didn't register it. The sound of the wind started to die out, his consciousness was slowly slipping away from his surroundings.

" _Toushirou, are you alright?"_ The voice was clear as a bell in his head, familiar yet unknown, teal eyes hastily widened and he lifted his head from the snowy surface. No one was there, but a jolt of pain in his arm was swiftly calling his mind back from the pit of blackness it had started to enter.

 _What the hell am I doing out here?_ He slowly rose to his feet, a gasp of pain and surprise passed his lips as he registered the pain in his arm and the numbness in his feet that made it hard for him to stand properly. Hitsugaya was shaking to the inside of his marrow as he tried to think back, why he had gone out there. It all had seemed like a dream but now that he looked around, it most definitely wasn't. He hadn't taken Hyourinmaru with him and that knowledge launched a violent feeling in his gut, he had to get back, quick.

A small tug at his yellow pajamas, that technically belonged to Karin, made the young Shinigami look down, his eyes widened at the sight of a white dog that was barely visible against the snowy ground. It wagged its long fluffy tail at him and looked pleased and, if possible, concerned. He could swear that the dog was smiling at him but how was that possible, where did it come from?

"Who…?" The dog barked cheerfully and tugged once more at his pajamas, realization went through Hitsugaya's head.  _That bark!_

"You're the dog that I've heard the last days!" He exclaimed, kind of surprised that it hadn't been all in his head after all. The dog just wagged its tail and started to pull him away from there. "Wait, what are you—"

" _Toushirou!"_ Pain flared through Hitsugaya's temple so suddenly he fell to his knees, gritting his teeth.

 _What's going on?_ The dog barked beside him and he could hear his name being called by someone again. It was that voice, he knew it from somewhere but couldn't place it no matter how hard he tried.

Hitsugaya slowly looked up, past the white dog that barked once more and soothingly licked his face. He could see the contour of someone running towards him, a tall figure whose body language emitted worry.

" _Toushirou!"_ If the figure just came a little closer he would be able to see who it was…

A firm grip on his shoulders drew him back to reality, he was looking Ichigo straight in the eye and he hadn't noticed it at all.

"Toushirou, what the hell are you doing out here?" Ichigo shouted, enraged and worried. "You're in no condition to go anywhere and then you go outside, with no real clothes on? What the hell were you thinking?"

"I…I…" Hitsugaya stuttered slowly, his body was shaking from the cold and he tried to regain his composure, the dog at his side was gone but he was certain he had felt it licking his face just moments ago. Its saliva was still there, freezing upon his cheeks.

Ichigo's twisted grimace of worry slowly broke into a reassuring smile as he watched the small Shinigami's confused face and gently helped him off the ground, careful not to touch Hitsugaya's wounded arm.

"Whatever, it's okay. Let's just get you back inside." He said soothingly and started to lead Hitsugaya's shaking figure towards the house. Luckily, he hadn't ventured far but Ichigo had a really bad feeling that this wasn't going to aid his recovery in the least.

The ice-wielder stopped abruptly in his tracks.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The orange-haired Substitute asked, concern quickly returning to his voice.

"Did you see it?" Hitsugaya's voice sounded croaked and hoarse but demanding, like he wouldn't move one more inch if Ichigo didn't answer the question.

"See what?"

"The dog."

"What dog?" Ichigo blinked, confused. "Toushirou, you're not making any sense."

The Captain seemed to think about that for a minute before he forced his numb legs to move again. His brain was desperately trying to conjure up an explanation for everything, the vision of the dog, the voice that was still ringing in his skull but sickness that had resulted in fatigue left him completely dumbfounded, no matter how hard he thought about it.

"Come on Toushirou, tell me what's going on!" Ichigo persisted, this was kind of freaking him out. Was Hitsugaya having delusions? It wouldn't be weird considering his fever but if it was that bad Ichigo had reason to worry.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw a dog out here." Hitsugaya muttered slowly after a pause, the pain in his arm made his voice come out strained and he started to feel lightheaded. If it had not been for Ichigo, he would surely had fallen to the ground once more.

"Whoa there, easy!" Ichigo took a firm grip on Hitsugaya's small shoulder as the small Shinigami was close to losing his footing. Ichigo half supported him, half dragged him back inside the house. The discussion could wait until later, right now he really needed to get Hitsugaya back inside, Ichigo could feel the heat radiating from the genius' body, even though he wasn't touching Hitsugaya's skin.

"Do you want something to drink? Or something to eat?" Ichigo asked as he helped the teal-eyed boy sit down on the couch again, the room was cold now that the barrier was broken, a little snow decorating the floor.

Despite his sick condition Hitsugaya had no trouble recognizing the worry in Ichigo's brown eyes.

"No, I honestly just want to sleep." Hitsugaya mumbled, his voice low and tired. He laid down and sighed as he waited for sleep to descend its fangs into his mind. Yet, he wasn't really at peace.

_Why did I go out there? What was that dog that Kurosaki didn't see? Why is all of this happening?_

A little to his own surprise, Hitsugaya found himself missing Soul Society, he even missed Matsumoto's whining! Those days he had at least been feeling well, he almost had a hard time to recall the feeling, pain and fever was close to wiping the familiar feeling of comfort away.

His small body was trembling from head to toe beneath the down quilt even though he tried hard to suppress the shivers and he broke out into a weak but painful cough. It lasted for almost two minutes, each cough tearing at the inside of his throat as a razor sharp blade.

Ichigo had temporarily gone to the kitchen in order to seal off the cracked window with more duct tape but as he heard Hitsugaya's coughs, he quickly fixed the window and returned to the cold living room. He wasn't late to notice the ice-wielder's shivering so he put a blanket on top of his cover before leaving again to get him some water to drink.

As Hitsugaya's coughs finally died out, his head slumped against the pillow, his forehead was covered in sweat, air was passing over his pale lips accompanied by weak gasping sounds and his face was flushed with fever.

Just seeing him like that was hurting Ichigo's heart, he looked exhausted and not just a little sick. Ichigo dipped the cloth in cold water and placed it upon the Shinigami's already wet forehead, he could feel heat emitting from it.

"Wait a second Toushirou." He wasn't sure if the Captain heard him because he didn't receive a reply and even though the teal eyes were open and staring, they seemed vacant and not seeing at all.

Ichigo found the clinical thermometer in the bathroom and hurried back to the living room where Hitsugaya seemed to have fallen asleep, his eyes were closed and his eyelids were twitching, proof that he wasn't really sleeping well. Ichigo didn't like it but he had to wake him up so he carefully put his hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder and gently shook him awake.

Watery turquoise opened and watched him cautiously, it looked like he had to recall Ichigo's face before he spoke.

"What Kurosaki?" He mumbled faintly, his usually cold tone weakened from fever and fatigue. Now it only sounded tired and croaked.

"We're just gonna take your temperature." Ichigo answered and showed him the clinical thermometer which made one of Hitsugaya's eyebrows quirk up.

"Why?"

"Just checking how bad your fever is." Ichigo answered, trying to not act as worried as he felt and thrust the thermometer into Hitsugaya's mouth. "Now keep it there."

Hitsugaya sighed but kept the cool thermometer in his mouth, he felt his eyelids getting heavier and he just wanted to give in to the weight but struggled against the feeling until Ichigo took the thermometer from him again. The throbbing pain in his arm wasn't keeping the will to sleep at bay.

"So?" Hitsugaya asked, eyes half closed and already slipping into sleep.

"Not so bad, just rest up. You'll be better in no time." Ichigo said in a encouraging tone but Hitsugaya didn't hear it, he had already fallen asleep.

Ichigo's brown eyes were wide from shock.

_42 degrees Celsius? That's freaking impossible!_

Since normal body temperature was around 37 degrees, 42 degrees was far too high for human health, Ichigo wasn't sure if this also applied to Shinigamis but considering the fact that most Shinigamis looked human in appearance, it should be about the same.

Ichigo went into the kitchen, trying to calm himself down. Of course his fever had gotten worse, he had gone out into the snowstorm without anything else than a pajamas on! Now, he would just have to make sure it got lower but cooling Hitsugaya down now that he was that sick without making him even worse could prove difficult.

 _Panicking won't get me anywhere, I'll just have to try to call Dad, he'll know what to do!_ Ichigo took the phone in the kitchen and dialed the number, waiting for the call to be connected. Signals got through.

_One..._

_Two..._

"We're sorry but at this moment, your call cannot be connected. Please try again later." The voice of a woman told him, Ichigo stood still with the phone in his hand, temporarily unable to move.

What the hell should he do now?

The snowstorm was blocking everything out and at this rate, he would need to get Hitsugaya to the hospital but how would he do that? The snow had extended to the middle of the window and blocked the entire ground floor. The only way out was through Ichigo's bedroom window on the second floor and the hospital was a couple of miles away, even if they made it, they might not be able to get inside.

Ichigo clutched the phone tightly, hearing the woman repeat the same sentence over and over until he threw it furiously across the room.

"What the hell should I do?" He roared, filled with anxiety and rage. At the impact with the wall, the voice of the woman died out.

 _At this rate, Toushirou might-!_ He wouldn't allow himself to think the thought through, it couldn't end that way, he wouldn't allow it.

Ichigo silently tread into the living room where Hitsugaya was thankfully still sleeping, face flushed of fever and every breath sounding strained. Ichigo took a blanket, wrapped it around himself and sat down on a chair close to the sofa.

He was determined to sit there and watch over him until this would be over.

Outside, the wind kept raging, increasing even more in strength.


	7. Chapter 7

Day 4

" _Alright, this is a Hollow extermination mission. Apparently, the Arrancar's preparations for battle is affecting the Hollows of Hueco Mundo, causing them to visit the real world more frequently. Because of this, we are meant to carry out our duty as Shinigami and take care of them. Use this mission as an opportunity to train and don't let your guard down. Got it?" Hitsugaya instructed in front of the Senkai Gate in Soul Society._

_Matsumoto Rangiku, Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji and Hisagi Shuuhei were the officers meant to go with him since the Hollow attacks had been increasing in strength and Kurosaki Ichigo wouldn't be able to protect all of Karakura Town at this rate. All of them nodded in agreement._

" _Captain, if we get this over with quickly, do we get free time in the real world?" Matsumoto asked, her excitement radiating from her pale blue eyes._

" _Matsumoto, this is no field trip. It's a mission so stay focused!" He hissed, unable to comprehend how many times she had asked that very question and how many times he had answered in an annoyed tone._

" _But Captain-!" She whined instantly._

" _No buts!" He interrupted her with authority in his voice. Why had he chosen her as his vice-captain to begin with? He found himself unable to recall the reason sometimes yet let his irritation slip away as the Senkai Gate opened._

" _Okay, let's go." He mumbled and was the first one to take a step inside, accompanied by a Hell Butterfly._

_Hitsugaya managed to take a total of five steps inside the Severing World before the Senkai Gate slid shut behind him, hindering Matsumoto and the others from entering._

" _What the-"_

" _Captain!" Matsumoto's voice could be heard from the other side._

" _It won't budge!" Hisagi exclaimed, Hitsugaya could imagine Hisagi and Renji pulling the door handle with all their might and he made a try to help from the inside but nothing happened. The door wasn't moving an inch._

Just what is going on?

" _How come it closed?" Rukia said, perplexed._

" _I have no idea..." Hitsugaya's voice trailed off as Hyourinmaru stirred, that was usually a warning and the young Captain sharpened his senses, something seemed to be lurking there._

" _Captain, what's wrong?" Matsumoto demanded to know and joined Hisagi and Renji in an attempt to get the door opened._

" _I'm not sure, there might be something wrong in here." He mumbled. "I'll try to reach the real world, you report this to the 12_ _th_ _Division. I'll contact you once I get through."_

" _Captain Hitsugaya, please be careful. We don't know what this means." Hisagi said, none of them doubted the Captain's fighting or analysis ability but the fact that Senkai Gate closed all of a sudden was unnerving._

" _I'll contact you later." With that goodbye phrase Hitsugaya started to run through the tunnel, all of his keen senses at maximum alert and one hand ready at Hyourinmaru's hilt. He had run a 100 meters when an eerie sound made him stop in his tracks in order to listen carefully._

_Slowly it got closer, only to soon gain in speed, a grinding sound that sent shivers down his spine._

_Realizing what the sound was he broke off into sprint again and quickly glanced over his shoulder._

_The Cleaner was operational and it chased him with greater speed than he could ever recall it using._

If that hits me, I'll be erased from existence!  _Hitsugaya tried to conjure up a plan as he ran as fast as his legs would allow him without the aid of shunpo. He could see the light of the exit another 100 meters away, perhaps he wasn't completely doomed._

_The grinding sound got louder and a quick glance backwards revealed that it was gaining on him, far too fast for him to be able to outrun it or reach the exit in time. Hastily Hitsugaya drew Hyourinmaru, slashing the Cleaner in order to make it stop temporarily if possible._

_His attack stopped the device in its tracks, he could hear its engine overworking in order to get forward but Hyourinmaru's might and ice kept it held in place. He felt lucky that all of the current wasn't operational yet because he probably would have been captured by it if it had been._

_When he started to think that he might get away without a scratch, a big tube appeared next to the golden eye upon the machine's head. He quickly switched to an retreating strategy once more, yet the air inside the Severing World was suddenly filled with a weird smell, a fragrance of death. His mind was getting foggy, his vision blocked by a cloud of purple smoke about the same colour as Kurotsuchi's Zanpakutou Ashisogi Jizou._

_Coughing he tried to keep running, the sound of cracking ice filling his ears together with the grinding sound that told him the Cleaner had managed to break free._

_A hard thud suddenly sent his body tumbling through nothingness like a ragdoll._

_When he started to regain his senses he was falling towards the ground of a small alley in Karakura Town, only a few foot above the ground._

 

* * *

 

Hitsugaya hastily opened his eyes, panting slightly from the dream and winching at the pain that shot through his arm. It didn't really feel like it had been a dream, it was more like a memory than anything else and it gave him a perplexed feeling inside.

If his dream was correct then that would explain why the Senkai Gate had been closed if the Cleaner attacked people.

But why had it assaulted him in the first place? He had sent information to the 12th Squad about their departure and usually the Cleaner was only operational when it was supposed to clear out unwanted intruders inside the Severing World.

Had it reacted to his reiatsu? How could that be possible if the 12th Squad were supposed to keep it in check when they knew that his group was going to enter? Plus, his Hell Butterfly should have completely eliminated the risk of the Cleaner charging.

It didn't make any sense to the young Captain, sure he knew that the Severing World could get unstable from time to time but hearing of the Cleaner going haywire and releasing weird smoke was definitely a first.

Hitsugaya sighed quietly which made his throat hurt, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he saw that the glass of water next to the couch was empty. His teal eyes found the figure of Ichigo sleeping with his arm on the living room table and his head resting in his palm, a few drips of drool was traveling down his chin. He also had a blanket over his shoulders.

 _Perhaps it's better to let him sleep._ Hitsugaya figured and slowly got up from the sofa, he felt like he really needed to drink something cold, or his body would soon burn up. His arm was of course cursing him with its outstanding pain as well and in his weakened state he couldn't help but hiss through gritted teeth.

His sluggish pace made it take a while before he got to the kitchen and found a clean glass in a cupboard and filled it with fresh cool water from the tap. He didn't really notice that the tap took on a slightly frosty appearance when he turned it on, the water freezing inside it when he turned it off. Hitsugaya gulped the water down in one go and glanced out the window, now snow had built up in front of it so seeing the scenery proved pretty much impossible.

 _It's been snowing that much?_ He thought, slightly absentminded and put away the glass at the counter. He wandered into the living room, slowly realizing how nice the cold felt against his burning skin.

Ichigo shivered and woke up, surprised at the low temperature in the room, cool mist and a pile of snow gathering in the corners. What surprised him the most though, was that it was all originating from Hitsugaya. The boy's reiatsu was filling up the room, making it feel as chill as a freezer.

"Toushirou?" He asked quietly, the young Captain's turquoise eyes slightly widened as his sluggish mind took in the image of the room at the sound of Ichigo's voice.

"What... the hell?" Was his reiatsu doing this? He wasn't even noticing it until now but there wasn't really any other explanation.

"Hey Toushirou, it's okay. Could you suppress it a bit?" Ichigo asked gently, making Hitsugaya agitated wouldn't really help and Ichigo tried to keep the worry out of his voice but in reality, if Hitsugaya wouldn't stop his reiatsu from slipping out like that soon he would probably freeze everything, perhaps even himself.

"Am I... doing this?" Hitsugaya couldn't believe it, this reminded him of how he had almost freezed his grandma to death in Rukongai, when he had been  _sleeping._ Now he was awake, maybe not at the top of his awareness but he noticed it now, his reiatsu was slipping out, a lot of it as well. Worst of all, he couldn't seem to make it stop. It was out of his control, forcing its way out of his damaged body.

"I... I..." The words stuttered, confusion creeping into them like venom through a open wound. "I can't make it stop..."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly got up from where he had been sitting on the cold floor, carefully putting a reassuring hand upon Hitsugaya's shoulder but the warmth that radiated off the ice-wielder's body quickly made him withdraw it. Hitsugaya's body was on the verge of burning up while his reiatsu was making the room freeze over.

"This doesn't make any sense! Come on, you can suppress at least a little, right?"

"I can't!" Hitsugaya roared, icicles forming at Ichigo's fingertips as he cried.

Hitsugaya was struggling to hold his own reiatsu back but it was like hitting a wall with a pillow in order to break it down, it seemed futile.

 _What's going on? Hyourinmaru!_ Even though he practically shouted inside his mind, the dragon didn't reply which just made Hitsugaya even more shocked and – he would never really admit it, scared.

All of a sudden, the environment shifted in front of his teal eyes, the staircase and most of the rooms disappeared as the house seemed to shrink in front of him, the structure of the walls slowly turned to wood as if time went backwards. Ichigo's presence faded and three figures appeared before him.

* * *

_A small boy with white hair, almost to the edge of his tiny shoulders shivered beneath a thin blanket on the floor. His turquoise eyes were watery and reflected emotional as well as psychical pain in his flushed face. His breathing was quick, sounding a lot like strained gasping and his left arm laid motionless at his side, clothed in a bloody bandage and with one of the bone-pipes sticking out, the wound had clearly been infected._

_A thin, gentle hand placed a wet cloth upon the boy's burning forehead, a white dog sat beside the sick boy, quietly whining at its master's weak state._

" _Sorry Shirou-chan..." The boy croaked faintly, pain accompanying every word. "I don't think... I can play today."_

_The dog wiggled its tail at him and barked once, as if it understood the boy and wanted to reassure him that it was okay._

_The hand that had placed the cloth on the child's forehead carefully brushed the bush of white hair._

" _It's okay Toushirou, don't talk." The hand's owner said quietly. "You'll be fine in no time. Then you and Shirou can play outside again."_

_A faint smile resided on the white-haired boy's face as he nodded, he was looking forward to that._

" _Nii-chan... is it still snowing?" He whispered after a few minutes of silence._

_The figure beside the bed slowly got up and walked over to the window with a small hole in it in another room._

" _Yes, it's snowing." The older brother informed when he sat down alongside the boy again._

" _You really like snow, don't you Toushirou?"_

" _Yeah, it's so pretty..." His weak voice broke out into a cough that made his small body shake violently._

_Finally, the fit passed, making the boy collapse, breathing heavily as he tried to fill his hurting lungs. His beautiful, yet tired turquoise eyes rolled, and his breath caught in his throat every time he tried to take air in._

_The man beside him glanced sadly upon the tormented frame of his little brother before he helped him sit up in order to drink a little water, the boy gulped it down slowly, some of it escaped from his mouth and flowed down his chin. His head slumped towards his bigger brother's chest, he could clearly hear the other's heartbeat beneath his ear. The man let him sit like that for a while before he carefully put him down again._

" _It'll be alright Toushirou, just try to get some sleep." He whispered gently, brushing away a few stray strands of hair from the teal eyes yet his calm voice seemed strained, Toushirou could hear that much._

" _Nii-chan, we'll always be together right?" He whispered affectionately, his voice raspy from the coughing._

_Shirou, the dog licked the boy's flushed face._

" _Toushirou... of course we will. I promise." His older brother said, his voice thick with tears that Toushirou couldn't see, his mind fading from the realm of consciousness._

" _Just rest, Toushirou." His brother begged, but Toushirou barely heard it._

_Darkness had descended upon the tiny white-haired boy, claimed his flickering life for its own._

_Shirou howled through the night._

 

* * *

 

Ichigo was on the verge of slapping Hitsugaya in order to bring him back to reality, the boy was just standing there, watching something in the distance that Ichigo couldn't see with turquoise eyes devoid of almost all emotion, just chock was markable in his young, currently red face. His reiatsu was still slipping out, every breath became a visible cloud of smoke in the chill.

Ichigo was starting to feel desperate, he had no idea what was going on.

"Toushirou? Answer me!" He received no response and found no other way than to try to slap him awake since shaking him seemed hopeless but Ichigo froze his hand inches from Hitsugaya's face, chock taking its place among his confusion.

A single tear was travelling down the ice-wielder's cheek, turning to steam before it reached the edge of his chin.

Hitsugaya blinked with a expression that Ichigo had never seen upon the small Captain's face before, a grimace of incredible sadness and sorrow etched into the lines of his fever-ridden face, making him look at least twenty years older.

"Toushirou, what's wrong?" Ichigo almost shouted in worry. Hitsugaya opened his mouth and was trying to say something but the words wouldn't come, they caught in his throat, refusing to be revealed. Ichigo had his hands on the small Captain's shoulders and was slowly leading him to the sofa, the same spot where...

_...Where I died._

Hitsugaya's head was spinning, whatever he had seen, it was tugging at his heart and somehow, he knew it was true. How it could be or why he was able to remember it was irrelevant, he just  _knew_  it was the truth of how he had died.

"I... can't believe it..." He whispered weakly.

Sudden pain embraced all of his body and mind, it felt like it was piercing his inner being with a thousand blades, all from different angles but each one of them aiming for his heart.

Hitsugaya didn't even have time to scream out his agony before he passed out, falling to the floor before Ichigo managed to catch him.

The desperate cry didn't reach Hitsugaya's ears:

"TOUSHIROU!"


	8. Night 4

Night 4

_Something was pulling him under, strings as durable as ropes and as stretchable as rubber bands were tying him down, dragging him further into the depths that seemed to know no end. All of his limps felt numb, his mind unfocused. All felt futile, meaningless._

_There was water all around, even breathing seemed like too much of a pain, just letting the current take him away, wherever it liked, felt so much better. Closing his eyes, the boy started to let his consciousness slip into the dark oblivion that beckoned it._

So tired...

" _Shirou-chan!" The old nickname made Hitsugaya slowly open one eye and stare at the infinite amount of water that surrounded him. In the distance a shimmering light lingered, making the endless space seem a little brighter. It took a while but he slowly remembered the owner of the voice._

Hinamori...

_The image of the smiling girl he met back in Rukongai appeared before his eyes, an old woman standing beside her who his sluggish mind recognized as his grandmother._

Oba-chan...

_Thinking about the sweet bean cookies she sent him from time to time brought a faint smile to his face, they tasted the best._

" _Sake in the middle of the day is the best!" The cheerful and lazy strawberry blonde woman appeared, cheeks blushed, looking absolutely drunk._

Matsumoto, skipping out on work again...

_He sighed to himself, had he ever imagined she would do something else in his absence?_

_A thought struck him, why was he there, seeing this?_

_And where was this?_

_Looking around didn't exactly provide any clues as everything was black as the dark night, expect the light above him..._

_If he went there, perhaps he could find out where this was._

_Slowly he tried to get closer to it but the white strings that were clinging to him prevented movement, despite his efforts, he didn't get an inch closer to the light. Any movement made his body tense from the pain shooting through his almost demolished left arm._

_His strength was fading from fatigue and pain, he struggled to take a breath, to draw air into his lungs that started to ache but couldn't. He was almost giving in to the feeling of it being hopeless..._

" _Come on Toushirou!" The vision of the orange-haired man and his voice rang a new bell inside his chest just as the darkness seemed to close in on him._

" _Toushirou... of course we will. I promise." A fuzzy image of a blond thin man with a warm voice and gentle touch gave his heart one more chance to rise._

I've still got things to do... don't I?

" _Master!" The voice of his trusted Zanpakuto, the other part of his heart brought the last needed spark to his soul._

" _Hyourinmaru!" With a commanding tone, Hitsugaya managed to stretch his arm out, grasping his Zanpakutou's hilt. Instant cold spread through his body and the nearby atmosphere, freezing the strings and his control over the chill left the water unfrozen. They quickly shattered, yet he couldn't breathe yet as he was under water. Without releasing his Bankai, wings of ice formed on his back, soon enabling him to reach to the light._

_Hitsugaya tore through the darkness in the lake and landed on his knees on a small isle of ice in the middle of a dark, endless ocean, being able to breathe once more felt good even though he coughed as he tried to take the air in. But he was alive, that much was certain as his left arm almost made him cry from agony the very second he made an effort to move it even an inch._

" _Master, are you alright?" The voice made him look up, finding the blue-haired, scarred and tall Zanpakutou in front of him, concern clearly visible in the features of his face. Hitsugaya slowly looked around, suddenly realizing where he was. All that existed there was an ocean of water with several icebergs in it, the sky above was dark, so what was the light he had seen?_

" _Master?" Hyourinmaru said again carefully._

" _It's my inner world." Hitsugaya spoke to himself as much as to Hyourinmaru. "I'm in my inner world, how did I end up here?"_

" _I'm not sure master, but the last hours I've felt something strange with your reiastu. Even now, I can sense it." Hyourinmaru said._

_Hitsugaya's mind immediately wandered to his inability to suppress his reiatsu, just a little while ago._

" _This isn't making any sense, why did I end up here?" He asked and stood up beside his Zanpakutou, he hadn't really meant to end up there, last thing he knew he had seen that weird memory and..._

" _We're reaching the end stage." A voice soft as silk but malicious as venom said, making both Hitsugaya and Hyourinmaru check their environment on high alert._

" _Who's there?" The dragon roared, enraged from the intrusion into their inner world, the essence of his master's and his own existence. "Show yourself!"_

" _You mean to say that you can't see me? I'm right here." Came the reply and Hitsugaya was shocked to see the clear white strings that he thought had fallen off him in the water reappear over his skin. The strings were clinging to him like a strong spider's web, trying to infiltrate him and made him feel weak, like his strength was drained from him with a vacuum cleaner._

" _Master!" Hyourinmaru transformed into his mighty dragon form and attempted to bite the strings off but instead the strings wired their way around the dragon, entrapping it and forcing it still against the ground. Despite the mightiest ice Zanpakutou's best efforts to break free the strings didn't snap._

_Hitsugaya understood one thing, these strings were eating his reiatsu, the more he tried to release in order to set himself free, the weaker in his knees he started to feel. Dizziness came over him but he couldn't afford to give in to it._

_If he did, he wasn't sure he would ever wake up but darkness was closing in on his mind, resisting was proving to be difficult._

" _Come on Host, let's play a game." A slightly amused, mocking voice echoed through Hitsugaya's inner world._

* * *

"Toushirou! Come on Toushirou!" Ichigo yelled on top of his lungs and shook him but much to his despair and fear, the small Captain on the bed didn't even stir. His breathing was ragged and slow, sweat forming in floods on his forehead and chest.

 _What is going on here?_ Ichigo put his hand on the other's forehead, his eyes widened. If Hitsugaya had had a high fever before, it barely could compare to the one he had now!

"What the hell am I supposed to do? Toushirou!" Ichigo was practically begging the white-haired ice-wielder to just open his eyes and tell him to shut up or whatever! Seeing him that weak almost made Ichigo's heart stop.

Time was passing slowly, yet it passed and it didn't make Ichigo feel any better since Hitsugaya laid as still as ever.

One thing the orange-haired man came to realize after almost three hours of panicked worry and fruitless tries to contact his dad, Inoue or anyone was that Hitsugaya's reiatsu wasn't overflowing to the room anymore, the phone had thankfully worked despite the fact it had flown into the wall just the other night. The room was still a bit cold because of the chill that the ice-wielder had bestowed upon it earlier but not unbearable, Ichigo barely even acknowledged it in his confusion.

But something he suddenly noticed was that Hitsugaya's reiastu wasn't just  _not_  overflowing anymore, it was barely noticeable. Ichigo sat down on the edge of the couch beside the small child, nervousness hitting its peak inside him. If it hadn't been for the fact that Ichigo was sitting so close to Hitsugaya that he could feel him, he wouldn't have noticed him at all.

The wielder of the strongest ice Zanpakutou in all of Soul Society emitted so little reiatsu Ichigo almost thought Hitsugaya was sheltering it on purpose but it couldn't be like that, sheltering reiatsu took concentration and considering Hitsugaya's current condition, the chance of him having the strength to do that seemed impossible.

Hitsugaya's eyelids had started to twitch and his breathing was from time to time letting out small gasps, both from pain and surprise it seemed but he didn't open his eyes.

Ichigo tried once more to shake him awake, to no avail.

"Toushirou!" Hitsugaya was starting to thrash beside him, the pale face now clearly expressing pain and agony. Ichigo didn't know what to do, he couldn't believe he had ever felt this helpless before. "Dammit Toushirou, just wake up!" He begged, whatever kind of nightmare Hitsugaya was having, he wanted to wake him up, to protect him from it.

The boy's body stilled after a few long minutes and Ichigo almost forgot to breathe when the Captain slumped against the pillow again. Hitsugaya's face was almost as pale as his white hair, sweat soaking his garments, his breathing labored and his forehead scorching with heat.

"What am I supposed to do?" Ichigo said to himself, hopelessness creeping into his thoughts, at this rate Toushirou would die, he just knew it.

Worst of all, he didn't know a way to stop it.

The screeching sound of Hitsugaya's phone cut through the room like a knife, almost making Ichigo's heart stop in surprise. Two signals passed before Ichigo fumbled his way to the phone on top of the table, haste almost making him trip over his own two feet.

"Hello?" He practically shouted in the phone.

"Ichigo? Jeez, you scared me! Why are you answering the phone? Where is Captain Hitsugaya?" Matsumoto's voice greeted him on the other end, concern audible in her usually cheery voice.

"Rangiku-san, Toushirou is unconscious, his breathing is labored, he's got the worst fever I've ever seen and I don't know what to do!" Ichigo completely ignored the fact that he whined like a scared little kid because the truth was, he was terrified.

"Whoa, Ichigo hold on!" Matsumoto said, distressed by the Shinigami Substitute's terrified voice.

"Just calm yourself down, take a deep breath!" She commanded and Ichigo hesitantly did as he was told, he had to admit he felt better for a couple of seconds.

"Now, tell me what's going on. In detail and take it slow." She asked him.

"Rangiku-san, I think Toushirou is gonna-" He couldn't say it, afraid that if he not only had the thought in mind but voiced it, it would become a reality.

"How is his reiatsu level?" The almost sickly curious voice of Kurotsuchi Mayuri said, almost making Ichigo jump from surprise since he had been so inside his own thoughts.

"...Really low, almost unnoticeable." Ichigo had to struggle in order not to stutter.

"Ichigo-kun, this is Ukitake. Is there no way we can talk to Captain Hitsugaya?" A third voice asked worriedly.

"That's impossible, I've tried to wake him up countless times the last few hours!" It sure felt like that much time had passed. "His forehead is scorching hot Ukitake-san and his breathing is strained!" Ichigo could feel panic rising in him again, god did he wish Inoue was there!

"Ichigo-kun, please calm down!" Ukitake begged him while Ichigo could hear Kurotsuchi utter a sound of delightful interest and the sound made Ichigo's skin crawl.

"Ukitake-san, what the hell is happening to Toushirou? It's rare for Shingamis to be sick right? So why the hell is Toushirou dying?" Hitsugaya had never been sick so none of this made any sense.

"Ichigo-kun I'll tell you all we know if you just calm down a little." Ukitake tried to sound calm but the 13th Squad Captain's voice was almost shaking, the sound of it slowly made Ichigo stop his shouting.

"What's going on here?" He begged to know and the scientist answered, voice low and dripping with interest.

"The Senkai Gate is most likely the cause of Captain Hitsugaya's current condition, or more accurately, the Cleaner inside the Severing World is the cause."

"The Cleaner?" Ichigo slowly recalled what Hitsugaya had said just the other day, that the Senkai Gate was closed for some reason and that the prodigy Captain didn't remember what happened inside. "How the hell is it the cause?"

"A week ago a crack appeared in the Severing World that connects the living world to Soul Society. My subordinates told me about it but before my scientists managed to get there, the rift had already closed. Thus, we didn't really see a reason to investigate it further." Kurotsuchi answered.

"But four days ago, when we were supposed to enter the Severing World for our mission only Captain Hitsugaya managed to step inside it before the gate shut itself." Matsumoto filled in, voice stern of both seriousness and concern, she took a deep breath before she continued. "The gate wouldn't open and we could hear the Cleaner being operational. Renji, Rukia and I waited by the gate while Hisagi contacted the 12th Squad."

"As we arrived, we used that bulkhead Zaraki to force the gate open." Kurotsuchi said, sounding kind of amused and irritated at the same time. "The moment we stepped inside, the Cleaner charged at us."

"How's that possible? With your Hell Butterflies the Cleaner recognizes you right? So why did it attack you?" Ichigo couldn't suppress the memory of the big machinelike device created from the otherworldly current that would have squashed him, Inoue, Chad, Ishida and Yoruichi to death if they hadn't run fast enough inside the Severing World both on their way to and from Soul Society. It felt like a claw took a tight icy grip round his gut.

"Someone meddled with it." Kurotsuchi answered simply, as if Ichigo's slow comprehension ability was getting on his nerves. "And that someone was most certainly not from Soul Society."

"Then who the hell would? And what do you mean meddled with it?" Ichigo demanded to know, he wasn't sure if he liked the direction this was going.

"We haven't found the one responsible yet." Ukitake said with a heavy heart. "But the perpetrator got caught on the Cleaner's internal camera and..."

"And what?" Ichigo shouted, Ukitake's hesitation made his stomach clench, the claw of worry taking a tighter grip than ever.

"We believe the one that reprogrammed the Cleaner was an..." Ukitake hesitated again and Kurotsuchi finally added.

"...Arrancar." He chuckled. "And a clever one at that, the rift cannot have been open in more than half an hour and in that short time he didn't just get in and out but also installed a quite intriguing device inside the Cleaner, programmed to activate as soon as a Shinigami of Vice Captain class or higher stepped inside."

Ichigo's stomach clenched and he felt ice cold, despite the sweat that started to form on his forehead.

"What kind of device..?" His voice was barely higher than a whisper and thick with worry, if an Arrancar had done something to the Cleaner which in turn had done something to Hitsugaya, it couldn't be good. Nothing the Arrancar did  _ever_  brought good news.

"A device that apparently was meant to release some kind of smoke when its victim came into range. I would say Captain Hitsugaya fulfilled the criteria for the Cleaner's new setup as his reiatsu is exceptional, even for a Captain." Ukitake said worriedly.

"That's what made him this sick?" Ichigo couldn't stop himself from shouting. "But there's some kind of cure right? There has to be!"

"We haven't been able to analyze the smoke, because there's none of it left." Kurotsuchi answered, sounding annoyed at the thought of a scientific sample being outside his reach. "Or at least that's what we thought until that bulkhead Zaraki, that has no control over his reiatsu whatsoever, suddenly was sparking reiatsu like a madman all over Seireitei and in an unusual way to say the least!"

"What the hell has that to do with Toushirou's condition?"

 _Why can't the stupid scientist ever get to the point?_ Ichigo thought.

"Thus, we made a full examination of the bulkhead and what we found inside Zaraki was... intriguing to say the least." Kurotsuchi said, voice once more dripping with scientific interest, without minding Ichigo's retort.

Finally Ukitake who was just as worried as Ichigo thought this conversation had gone on long enough without really provide the reason for everything.

"It was a virus Ichigo-kun. Captain Zaraki stepped into the Severing World first when the gate was down and yesterday his reiatsu was obviously peaking and unbalanced."

"Which means the virus takes some time to start its effects." Kurotsuchi added and sighed in his annoyance since he had been interrupted in his explanation. "We did manage to get it out of him before it caused any real damage." Ichigo ignored the fact that Kurotsuchi seemed to dislike that.

"Since the Cleaner hasn't been restored to its former state yet, we thought keeping the Senkai Gate closed for the moment would be for the best, so that no one else falls to its rampage." Ukitake said slowly, worry straining his voice.

"But considering what you're telling us now, it seems Captain Hitsugaya's condition most likely is because of this very virus." The scientist concluded.

"Then what have you found out about it? How can I help him?" Ichigo cried, losing the last of his patience when Hitsugaya let out a sharp, pained gasp before once more falling completely still on the couch, the sound carried over to Soul Society through the line.

The 10th Squad Vice Captain bit her lip, never had she heard her Captain sound that weak in any situation, he was the type that endured whatever pain was thrown at him and almost never complained! The fact that he now emitted gasps of agony made her realize how bad it must be. Not being able to be by his side just made her heart beat faster from worry.

"Toushirou, do you hear me?" Ichigo tried once more but the small prodigy didn't stir.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, please! What can he do to help?" Matsumoto said, desperate for some kind of solution.

"From the little information we got regarding the virus, it devours reiatsu. And not just a little amount, it tries to suck the victim completely dry. Think of it as not an ordinary virus, more like a parasite, an organism designed to take whatever reiatsu it comes in contact with and weaken the host it comes in contact with. Most likely, the host's reiatsu gets unstable as a result."

Ichigo's breath caught in his throat at the 12th Squad's explanation, his brown eyes was wide, focusing on Hitsugaya's small frame and sweat was dripping down the Substitute's face.

The 10th Squad's Captain's reiatsu had been low, almost unnoticeable for quite a while but now it wasn't just weak.

It had disappeared, along with the ice-wielding prodigy's strained breathing and scarlet blood from his left arm was now staining the couch.

Ichigo dropped the phone in panic.


End file.
